There used to be a station on 720 in Cuba, CMGN, with 30000 watts. It was about 20 Hz off frequency, at least in the 1960s and 1970s, which caused an audible annoying hum on WGN. I thought it was pretty strange that it had that set of call letters.
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That Supposed KDWN 720 Nevada Test ?
- Thread starter Steve Green NEPA
- Start date
The CM prefix was used by Cuba for broadcasters in the pre-Fidel era. They hung on for years in station listings (maybe they were still official), but I don't remember them being used on-air, even in the 1960s.
Yes. The Region 2 Database has call letters that are decades out of date. Where I saw CMGN first was in the WRTH.
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Few Latin American stations (except, sometimes, ones founded in the 20's and 30's) used or use call letters for their identity. The use of call letters is a very Amercan trait that sort of bled over to Canada, early Mexican stations and those in Australia, too.
For example, the big "network" for drama, variety and live music in Cuba was CMQ... which goes back to the 30's. But the newer (40's and later) stations had names like Cadena Azul and Radio Reloj and the like.
Even when I interned in Mexico City in 1963, calls were used on the old-line stations like XEX, XEW, XEQ, XEQK and a few others. The big stations were Radio Variedades, Radio Mil, Radio 6-20, Radio Centro, Radio Éxitos, Radio A-I, Radio Sinfonola, Radio L-Z, and so on.
As I mentioned before, in the later 60's when I owned stations in Ecuador, we were not allowed to use the call letters as an identifier and had to use an authorized name only. Later, in the early 2000's, when programming stations in Buenos Aires, nobody at the stations knew our call letters and it took the government license bureau several days to find them for us!
Also Japan, South Korea, and the Phillipines. Of course, the Phillipines had been US territory before the war. IIRC, they used KZ** prior to independence, changing the KZ** to a DZ** afterwards.
Are Mexican stations still required to give their call letters periodically? I haven't listened in awhile, but I always heard them giving out their calls at the top of the hour in the past. I know enough Spanish to pick out the alphabet and ID them.
Interesting. If a station wanted to change its name for whatever reason, did that require filing with the Ecuadorian authorities, or was a notification enough?
I would think that somebody at the Federal level maintained some kind of database, even if the actual calls were never used on-air, if they were still official. Or did they have to register their on-air name?
Every country has assigned call prefixes. Some use them for identity, others just for licensing.
Yes, much of their regulation is based on 30's and 40's FCC rules.
It required authorization. The license was for the name. The calls were just for international notification.
The licensing entity had the data, but they did not have it easily relocatable. The station license had a name and a revenue code, but not the call letters. And this was the group owned by Emmis back then.
Technically, the regulation requiring them to ID every 30 minutes was junked in 2014. But they all still do it.
Rats! Call 'em in!
Those that I have spoken with seem to think that they are still required as the former rule was never "abrogated". Of the two I asked, one said that the CIRT still recommended IDs, but I can't find that anywhere on their site! I guess this is a case of "doing what we always did".
Call KFIR!
If that doesn't work call 710 KIRO as they're the main reason KFIR runs low power at night.
KDWN was the second reason. WGN and the Alaskan are next.
*KIRO is protected since they are a Class A first adjacent.
Some of the confusion must come from the incessant reorganization of the communications "authority" in Mexico. I can remember all the way back to the 60's when I first visited the SCOP (Secretaría de Comunications y Obras Públicas) out on Xola in the DF; it seems a decade can't go by that they do not re-do the structure and name.
I'm sure everyone here in this forum, that's on the west coast can hear KFIR at night. They are broadcasting @ 10KW non directional (day power) when they should be at somewhere along the lines of 180w.
I have sent a message to them via Facebook (figured that might seen by someone important or at least passed on)
I have (wife) also sent them an email. Hopefully, they will reduce there power to the agreed FCC minimal of 184 watts.
This should open up the possibility of either catching KOTZ or WGN for us west coast folks.
Let's see if they hear me(US), and find out why they are not powering down. It might just be a technical issue they are unaware of. Hopefuuly in a weeks time, the band will be quite enough to hear WGN / KOTZ
I have sent a message to them via Facebook (figured that might seen by someone important or at least passed on)
I have (wife) also sent them an email. Hopefully, they will reduce there power to the agreed FCC minimal of 184 watts.
This should open up the possibility of either catching KOTZ or WGN for us west coast folks.
Let's see if they hear me(US), and find out why they are not powering down. It might just be a technical issue they are unaware of. Hopefuuly in a weeks time, the band will be quite enough to hear WGN / KOTZ
The only thing I get here is All KFIR, All The Time, and although I can more or less null it out, there's nothing but noise when I do.
I suppose if I listen long enough, I'll catch something from either WGN (or KOTZ, if KFIR turns down their nighttime power like they're supposed to) sooner or later.
Again, if KFIR is broadcasting at <200w like they should, KOTZ would probably be more likely to be found than WGN over here in the SF Bay Area, given that it's somewhat closer and pretty much a straight shot to the northwest over mostly water.
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I suppose if I listen long enough, I'll catch something from either WGN (or KOTZ, if KFIR turns down their nighttime power like they're supposed to) sooner or later.
Again, if KFIR is broadcasting at <200w like they should, KOTZ would probably be more likely to be found than WGN over here in the SF Bay Area, given that it's somewhat closer and pretty much a straight shot to the northwest over mostly water.
c
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KOTZ is very rarely heard except for further north in the Pac NW
Will you hear it? Possibly, but not likely.
KOTZ has to traverse alot of mountainous Alaska to get to you first
WGN has 50kw and its not all mountains to you.. lots of open plains and good ground conductivity. Its also 700 miles closer to to you than KOTZ.
Youre going to be much more likely to hear WGN then KOTZ.
The other reason is.. aurora activity which often enhances signals in the lower 48 US states...attenuates/absorbs and kills signals from Alaska going anywhere.
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